Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-02-17
WHEN NIAGARA WAS DRY.
A Remarkable Day, Forty Years Ago, in
the History OF the Great Cataract.

A Remarkable Day, Forty Years Ago, in
the History of the Great Cataract.
''Thirty-nlne years ago next spring."
said an old resident of this village, "a
sight was witnessed ut the Falls OF
Niagara that had never been seen be-
fore, at least by people then on earth,
and in all probability such sight will
never be witnessed again. 1t was moth
ing more or less than the running dry
of the great cataract, or ut least so near
ly dry that it Is no exaggeration TO call
it so, in which condition the falls re-
manned for one whole day.
''The winter of 1S48 had been one of
the coolest on record. and such ice has
never been known on Lake Erie since,
1 guess, as formed that season. 1t was
of enormous thickness. 1t was quite
late in the spring before the ice was
loosened. even about the shores of the
lake. One day. think II was near the
end of April--a very stiff northeasterly
wind came up. and its force was so
great that it moved the great fields of
ice, then entirely separated from the
shores, up the lake. pi!ing the foes in
great banks as they moved. The sight
of those ice-banks is described by those
who witnessed it as one of most awful
grandeur Toward night the wind
changed suddenly TO the opposite quar-
ter, and grew into terrible gale from
that direction. The lakes surface was
packed with miniature icebergs, and
these were hurried back by the gale
with such tremendous force that an inn
penetrable dam was formed in the neck
of the lake from which Niagara river
flows, and the great current Of water
which finds its way from the lake in
the rushing channel of that stream. to
be dashed over the gigantic precipice OF
the falls, was so held in check that no
more than one-duarter of its usual
volume could find Il passage through the
immense pack of ice.
"As this pack was stubborn, it was
naturally but Il short time before the fall
had drained nearly all The water out Of
the river. This, of course, occurred
during the night, and we people who
lived in Niagara village knew nothing
OF the phenomenon until next morning.
| remember that | awoke very early that
morning with the sense of something
exceedingly strange depressing me. 1t
was some time before discovered that
the feeling came from the fact that the
cataract was almost missing. jumped
out of bed, and on leaving the house
found that scores of others had been
awakened by the same circumstance.
aud were hurryng toward the falls 10
see what the trouble WAS. We found
that the great Niagara Falls was about
one-quarter OF its former volume
We had not heard of the irou0Ic at
Lake Erie, and the terrible thought
that the falls We're running dry created
a feeling Of alarm not easily Imaginable.
The American channel had dwihdled TO
a creek in comparison with its original
proportion. while the British channel
resembled some ordinary river in the
drouth of Au ust Goat Island WAS as
big as two Goat Islands. us the water
had shrunk from every side of Il. leaving
n wide eXranse OF wei, SiIav. Jagged
rocks which no eye in that vicinity mad
ever seen before The bed OF the Cana
dian rap It's far ont into he stream. was
dry, rs was the ~pac hcl vPeu the lower
end of Goat Island, ANA ou; beyond the
tower. The rocks thus rxnosel were
black and fOrbidding. giving the dry
river bed the appearance oil tract OF
charrcu stunps. the Three Sisters
looked forlorn in their enhanced dimen-
sions. The great jet of water which
had, from time out Of mind. leaped into
the mir about 500 yards south OF this
group OF islands in the great rapids,
and which is lcapnG there to-day. was
not ieaplng that morling. aud. SO some
one remarked that day, the tremendous
roar Of Niagara had subsidized to a
moan.
''The scene was at once desolate,
stra0gc and awful 10 contemplate. The
picture viii never leave my mind. The
" hoe village was pUi Exploring caves,
dark rrcvS>cs, curious formations in the
rocks, ANA ether remarkable textures OF
the cataract aud rapids tnat no mortal
ego had probably ever gaz,d upon be-
fore. These explorations wore made
safely 10 the very brink of the Horse
shoe Rapids. a Mr.. Holley drove a
horse and buggy from the head OF Goat
Island clear to the spot where the leap
ing jet of water had always writhed
and foamed. He also cut several sticks
OF timber near the brink of Horseshoe
Fall. had them ilewed there, and hauled
them away with four horses. These
sticks they were large, fine timbers-
are in the frame Of some house at the
falls now. This remarkable condition
of affairs ut tie cataract continued all
day, and showed no sign of change
when the people went 10 bed that
night When we arose in the morning.
however, the old familiar thunder of the
falls was again shaking the earth as
before, and the river and the rapids
were again the scething, whirling,
Irresistible torrent of old. The ice in
the lake had shifted again. and some
time in the night the long-restrained
volume of water had rushed down and
reclaimed its own"
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